Wynton Marsalis and Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, 7/5/98

by Seth Rogovoy

(LENOX, Mass., July 5, 1998) -- On Sunday night at the National Music Foundation, Wynton Marsalis said that the worst thing that ever happened to jazz was its abandonment of the dance hall in favor of the concert stage.

On the surface the remark was an ironic throwaway, as Marsalis was there leading the august Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, which he was instrumental in founding as a vehicle to bring jazz repertory and new compositions to concert stages around the world.

Marsalis's comment was a reference to the handful of enthusiastic fans who were so moved by his band's rhythms that they turned a balcony in the auditorium into a highly-visible dance floor, thus restoring jazz to its origins as dance music.

It was an exceptional aspect of an exceptional concert, as Marsalis and his 15-piece orchestra gave the lie to jazz as a cold, abstract music. Instead, in a program consisting primarily of Duke Ellington compositions and a few by Marsalis himself, the band served up a highly accessible stew of ensemble and solo improvisational works that engaged the audience while simultaneously challenging it to come along for the ride.

Whereas in previous jazz concerts at this venue and at Tanglewood with the Lincoln Center group or his own ensemble, Marsalis tended to be rather circumspect or austere, this time around the Grammy- and Pulitzer Prize-winning trumpeter and composer was a warm, witty, engaging frontman. With his fellow players, he chose to emphasize the lighthearted aspect of his craft -- at no expense, however, to his art.

In the course of the two-hour program with intermission, the audience got a chance to hear from each musician several times, so that by the end of the evening one had a sense of the band both as a collective and as a collection of unique personalities. This was just one of the many ways in which Marsalis was able to speak to the essence of jazz in music instead of in words.

The music, of course, spoke most loudly and clearly. In the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Marsalis has assembled a youthful, versatile and diverse crew, more than a few of whom have already made names for themselves as "young lions" of jazz. Brimming with esprit de corps, the musicians functioned with the agility and grace of a winning sports team, knowing when to assist each other and when to let a particular star strut his individual stuff.

The basic playbook came from Duke Ellington, and the players breathed new life into classics including "Concerto for Cootie," featuring Ryan Kisor on trumpet, and "Portrait of Louis Armstrong," the one showcase for his prodigious talent that Marsalis allowed himself. Wess "Warmdaddy" Anderson took a warm, sultry solo on alto saxophone on Ellington's "Rockabye River," and Ted Nash, on soprano sax, walked away with Billy Strayhorn's "Frere Monk" with a series of slurred notes, cries and syncopated ostinatos.

Much to the dancers' delight, the second half of the program featured several highly danceable selections with an Afro-Cuban influence, including Ellington's "Latin American Sunshine."

In the end, however, the group was at its best on Marsalis's own compositions. "Root Groove" was quintessential Marsalis -- witty, classic, with a strong narrative flow. The piece was structured around a conversation between trombonist Wycliffe Gordon and the entire reed section playing soprano sax. Sunny, bright and playful, the music implied playground boasting on one level, and a battle between New Orleans and modern jazz on another.

Likewise, the "Caboose" section from Marsalis's newest major work, "Big Train," which closed the concert, suggested that his Pulitzer for composition was no fluke. Employing vocals, call and response, body rhythms and an ineffable "chunka-chunk" rhythm, Marsalis's train- inspired arrangements were stark and brilliantly onomatopoetic, deeply resonant of jazz tradition and eloquent in their idiomatic use of African-Americanisms.

As much as the concert was a great kickoff to the foundation's summer concert series -- how can anyone hope to top what will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the best concerts, jazz or otherwise, at this or any venue? -- it was even moreso a signal event announcing the arrival of a Wynton Marsalis wholly fulfilling the promise set out for him nearly two decades ago, and now truly deserving of his towering place on the jazz landscape.

[This review originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on July 8, 1998. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1998. All rights reserved.]

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